In-vehicle services through attendant devices, user-provided devices, and/or an in-vehicle computer system

ABSTRACT

An approach to facilitating in-vehicle services through attendant devices, user-provided devices, and/or an in-vehicle computer system is provided. In one implementation, one or more communication sessions with the in-vehicle computer system may be facilitated by an attendant device. Passenger information relating to one or more passengers of a vehicle and service information relating to one or more services to be provided to the one or more passengers may be obtained by the attendant device from the in-vehicle computer system via the one or more communication sessions. The passenger information and the service information may be provided by the attendant device. An indication that at least one service is in progress or is complete is received by the attendant device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/954,962, filed on Nov. 30, 2015, entitled “IN-VEHICLE SERVICESTHROUGH ATTENDANT DEVICES, USER-PROVIDED DEVICES, AND/OR AN IN-VEHICLECOMPUTER SYSTEM,” which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/293,623, filed on Jun. 2, 2014, entitled “IN-VEHICLESERVICES THROUGH ATTENDANT DEVICES, USER-PROVIDED DEVICES, AND/OR ANIN-VEHICLE COMPUTER SYSTEM” (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,203,721 on Dec.1, 2015), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/843,990, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, entitled “IN-VEHICLE SERVICESTHROUGH ATTENDANT DEVICES, USER-PROVIDED DEVICES, AND/OR AN IN-VEHICLECOMPUTER SYSTEM” (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,751,646 on Jun. 10, 2014),which is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/843,864, filedMar. 15, 2013, entitled “IN-VEHICLE SERVICES FOR USER-PROVIDED DEVICES”(issued Mar. 3, 2015 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,972,598), U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/844,089, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, entitled“PRE-TRANSIT AND POST-TRANSIT FACILITATION OF IN-VEHICLE SERVICES”(issued Jun. 3, 2014 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,744,926), and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/844,169, filed Mar. 15, 2013, entitled“ADMINISTRATION AND CUSTOMIZATION PLATFORM FOR IN-VEHICLE-SERVICES”(issued May 6, 2014 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,719,064), the contents of whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to facilitating in-vehicle servicesthrough attendant devices, which may be provided to, or owned andbrought onto a vehicle, by an attendant, user-provided devices that maybe owned and brought onto the vehicle by a user, and/or an in-vehiclecomputer system.

BACKGROUND

Transit providers, such as airlines, bus companies, railway companies,taxi companies, limousine companies, etc., may install in-vehicleservice systems in their vehicles to provide in-vehicle services toentertain their passengers, enable attendants to better serve thepassengers, and/or otherwise provide enhanced services during transit onthe vehicle. In-vehicle services may include provision of electroniccontent (e.g., movies, games, etc.), beverages, meals, blankets,pillows, headphones, and/or other items or services. For example,commercial airlines oftentimes equip their airplanes with in-flightentertainment (IFE) systems to provide their passengers withentertainment while in-transit to their destinations. However, amongother issues, conventional IFE systems are heavy, expensive, complex,and/or behind current consumer electronics technology. For instance,conventional IFE systems require wiring and hardware such as seatbackcontrols, seatback displays, overhead displays, or other devices thatadd weight to the airplane, which translates into added fuel and othercosts to operate a given flight. Furthermore, conventional IFE systemsmay be locked into using the same hardware for a substantial time due tocosts, compatibility, or other issues related to upgrading or replacingsuch systems.

Many transit providers also have on-board attendants who help to servicepassengers. However, streamlining services provided by the attendantscan be difficult in conventional systems. For example, an airplanetypically includes a call button that a passenger activates to requestattention. However, apart from an indication of where the call buttonwas activated, the attendant is not informed of additional informationrelated to the request. Furthermore, although attendants may access apassenger manifest, the manifest is conventionally decoupled fromin-vehicle service systems, thereby failing to leverage informationknown about passengers and services that can be (or have been) providedby the in-vehicle service system.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the disclosure relates to a system configured tofacilitate in-vehicle services through attendant devices, user-provideddevices, and/or an in-vehicle computer system, in accordance with one ormore implementations. In exemplary implementations, an in-vehiclecomputer system may facilitate (e.g., establish or accept) one or morecommunication sessions between one or more attendant devices anduser-provided devices. The communication sessions may, for instance,enable the in-vehicle computer system, the attendant devices, and theuser-provided devices to interact with one another, for instance, withor without a connection to the Internet or otherwise with or without aconnection to a network external to the vehicle.

In some implementations, because a user-provided device may generally beowned by and/or brought aboard the vehicle by a passenger (e.g.,user-provided devices may be personal devices of passengers broughton-board to interact with the in-vehicle system), the in-vehiclecomputer system may identify and associate the user-provided device withan identity and/or seat location of the passenger who brought theuser-provided device. In this manner, the in-vehicle computer system mayobtain information to identify a passenger making a service request froma user-provided device. For example, the user-provided device maycommunicate a passenger name, ticket information, and/or otherinformation that may be used to identify the passenger and/or seatinglocation of the passenger.

In some implementations, the in-vehicle computer system may facilitatecommunication between attendants and passengers on board the vehiclethrough respective attendant devices and user-provided devices. By wayof example, in one implementation, the in-vehicle computer system mayenable users to obtain access to entertainment and other servicesthrough their user-provided devices along with other benefits.

In some implementations, the system may include the in-vehicle computersystem. The in-vehicle computer system may include one or more servers.The server(s) may be configured to communicate with one or more clientcomputing devices according to a client/server architecture and/or otherarchitecture that allows computing devices to communicate with oneanother. The client computing devices may include one or more ofattendance devices and user-provided devices.

The server(s) may be configured to execute one or more computer programmodules to facilitate in-vehicle services for user-provided devices. Thecomputer program modules of the servers(s) may include one or more of acommunication session module, a content manager module, a passengermodule, a service module, a content access module, and/or other modules.

The communication session module may be configured to facilitate one ormore communication sessions between one or more attendant devices andone or more user-provided devices.

The passenger module may be configured to provide passenger informationrelating to one or more passengers. In certain implementations, thepassenger module may be configured to provide the passenger informationto the one or more attendant devices. By way of example, the passengerinformation may include one or more of identifying information,preference information, history information, status information, and/orother information associated with the one or more passengers.

The service module may be configured to provide service informationrelating to one or more services to be provided to the one or morepassengers. In various implementations, the service module may providethe service information to the one or more attendant devices.

The service module may be configured to receive at least one requestfrom at least one user-provided device. The service module may beconfigured to provide the at least one request to the one or moreattendant devices. The service module may be configured to receiveacknowledgement information associated with the at least one requestfrom at least one attendant device. The service module may be configuredto provide the acknowledge information to the at least one user-provideddevice.

In certain implementations, the service module may be configured toreceive an indication that at least one service associated with the atleast one request is in progress or complete. In variousimplementations, the service module may be configured to receive anindication that at least one service associated with the at least onerequest is complete from at least another attendant device differentfrom the at least one attendant device.

The service module may be configured to provide the indication that theat least one service is complete to the at least one attendant device.In some implementations, the service module may be configured to receivean indication that at least one service associated with the at least onerequest is complete from the at least one user-provided device. Theservice module may be configured to provide the indication that the atleast one service is complete to the at least one attendant device.

The content access module may be configured to provide access to one ormore content items available to one or more user-provided devices. Insome implementation, the one or more content items may include at leastsome content items that are stored by the in-vehicle computer system.

A given attendant device may be configured to execute one or morecomputer program modules to facilitate in-vehicle services throughattendant devices, user-provided devices, and/or an in-vehicle computersystem. The computer program modules of the attendant device may includeone or more of an attendant communication module, an attendant servicemodule, and/or other modules.

The attendant communication module may be configured facilitate to oneor more communication sessions with the in-vehicle computer system.

The attendant service module may be configured to obtain (e.g., receiveor take), from the in-vehicle computer system via the one or morecommunication sessions, passenger information relating to one or morepassengers and service information relating to one or more services tobe provided to be the one or more passengers.

In certain implementations, the service information may relate to one ormore accommodation requests initiated by the one or more passengers. Inone implementation, the attendant service module may be configured toobtain the service information responsive to one or more accommodationrequests initiated by the one or more passengers at the one or moreuser-provided devices. In another implementation, the attendant servicemodule may be configured to obtain the service information responsive toone or more accommodation requests initiated by at least one passengerat one or more built-in-vehicle devices such as a call button. In theseimplementations, the attendant service module may integrate withconventional systems that may be already on-board.

In some implementations, the attendant service module may be configuredto obtain the passenger information and the service information from thein-vehicle computer system with or without an Internet connection.

The attendant service module may be configured to provide the passengerinformation and the service information. In some implementations, theattendant service module may provide the passenger information and theservice information to an attendant operating the attendant device,another attendant operating another attendant device, and/or otherpersonnel.

The attendant service module may be configured to receive an indicationthat at least one service is in progress or is complete. For example,the attendant service module may be configured to receive the indicationfrom the attendant device (that includes the attendant service module),from another attendant device, from a given user-provided device, and/orfrom other sources such as external computing systems that may alreadybe on-board.

In certain implementations, the attendant service module may beconfigured to provide a communication relating to servicing the one ormore passengers to one or more user-provided devices associated with theone or more passengers. In various implementations, the attendantservice module may provide the communication such that one or more ofvoice communications, video communications, or text communications thatare inputted at the attendant device are provided to the one or moreuser-provided devices. In some implementations, the attendant servicemodule may provide the communication such that one or more of emergencyinformation or safety-related instructions is provided to the one ormore user-provided devices.

In various implementations, the attendant communication module may beconfigured to facilitate one or more direct peer-to-peer communicationsessions with the one or more user-provided devices. In someimplementations, the attendant service module may be configured toprovide the communication via the one or more direct peer-to-peercommunication sessions.

In certain implementations, the attendant service module may beconfigured to receive one or more passenger communications from one ormore user-provided devices associated with the one or more passengers.In some implementations, the attendant service module may be configuredto receive the one or more passenger communications such that one ormore of voice communications, video communications, text communications,and/or other types of communications that are inputted at the one ormore user-provided devices are received.

A given user-provided device may be configured to execute one or morecomputer program modules to facilitate in-vehicle services throughattendant devices, user-provided devices, an in-vehicle computer system,and/or other devices. The computer program modules of the user-provideddevice may include one or more of a user communication module, a userservice module, and/or other modules.

The user communication module may be configured to facilitate one ormore communication sessions with the in-vehicle computer system.

The user service module may be configured to provide one or more optionsrelating to in-vehicle services available to the user during transit onthe vehicle. The user service module may be configured to determine aselection of at least one option by the user. The user service modulemay be configured to provide, via the one or more communicationsessions, the selection of the at least one option to the in-vehiclecomputer system.

In certain implementations, the user service module may be configured toprovide the selection of the at least one option to the in-vehiclecomputer system with or without an Internet connection.

In some implementations, the user service module may be configured toprovide the selection of the at least one option to the in-vehiclecomputer system such that one or more accommodation requests areprovided to the in-vehicle computer system based on the selection.

In certain implementations, the user service module may be configured toreceive a list of one or more content items stored by the in-vehiclecomputer system that are available to the user-provided device. The userservice module may be configured to provide the one or more options(relating to in-vehicle services) based on the received list. The userservice module may be configured to provide the selection of the atleast one option to the in-vehicle computer system such that a selectionof at least one content item is provided to the in-vehicle computersystem. In some implementations, the user service module may beconfigured to receive access to the at least one content item via theone or more communication sessions based on the selection of the atleast one content item.

In various implementations, the user service module may be configured toreceive a communication relating to servicing the user. In someimplementations, the user service module may receive the communicationsuch that one or more of emergency information or safety-relatedinstructions are received.

In certain implementations, the user communication module may beconfigured to facilitate one or more direct peer-to-peer communicationsessions with one or more attendant devices. In some implementations,the user service module may be configured to receive the communicationfrom the one or more attendant devices via the one or more directpeer-to-peer communication sessions.

In various implementations, the user service module may be configured toprovide one or more passenger communications to one or more attendantdevices 104. In some implementations, the user service module may beconfigured to provide the one or more passenger communications such thatone or more of voice communications, video communications, textcommunications, and/or other types of communications that are inputtedat the user-provided device to the one or more attendant devices.

In various implementations, the user service module may be configured todetermine that that the user has a frequent flyer status. In someimplementations, the one or more options (relating to in-vehicleservices) may be provided such that a set of options relating toin-vehicle services that are not available to users without the frequentflyer status may be provided.

In certain implementations, the user service module may be configured tofacilitate a check-in of the user for transport of the user. In someimplementations, the check-in of the user may be facilitated though thein-vehicle computer system or through one or more computer systemsexternal to the vehicle.

These and other features, and characteristics of the present technology,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structure and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description and the appended claims with reference to theaccompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification,wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in thevarious figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that thedrawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only andare not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. As usedin the specification and in the claims, the singular form of “a”, “an”,and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system configured to facilitate in-vehicle servicesthrough attendant devices, user-provided devices, and/or an in-vehiclecomputer system, in accordance with one or more implementations.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of an in-vehicle computer system on avehicle, in accordance with one or more implementations.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate diagrams of a user interface of anapplication on a user-provided device for facilitating in-vehicleservices, in accordance with one or more implementations.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for provisioning of in-vehicle servicesthrough an attendant device that communicates with an in-vehiclecomputer system of a vehicle or with a user-provided device, inaccordance with one or more implementations.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method for obtaining of in-vehicle services througha user-provided device that communicates with an in-vehicle computersystem of a vehicle or with an attendant device, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method for in-vehicle services through anin-vehicle computer system of a vehicle that communicates with auser-provided device or with an attendant device, in accordance with oneor more implementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 configured to facilitate in-vehicleservices through attendant devices, user-provided devices, and/or anin-vehicle computer system, in accordance with one or moreimplementations. In some implementations, system 100 may include anin-vehicle computer system. The in-vehicle computer system may includeone or more servers 102. The server(s) 102 may be configured tocommunicate with one or more client computing devices according to aclient/server architecture. The client computing devices may include oneor more attendant devices 104 and one or more user-provided devices 106.

As used herein, an attendant device 104 is provided by an attendant fortransit on a vehicle. The attendant device 104 may include applicationsfor in-vehicle services as well as other user applications unrelated tothe in-vehicle services. In some implementations, the attendant device104 is not a dedicated device for exclusive use with the in-vehiclecomputer system. By way of example, the one or more attendant devices104 may include one or more of laptop computers, tablet computers,netbooks, smartphones, or other computing devices that are provided byone or more attendants during transit on a vehicle. Attendant devices104 may, for instance, include the personal devices of the attendants orcompany-owned devices (e.g., based on whether a company follows a “bringyour own device” (BYOD) policy, a hybrid BYOD policy, or other policy).In one scenario, airlines that utilize the in-vehicle computer system ofthe system 100 may avoid or otherwise reduce costs associated withpurchasing, installing, or maintaining attendant equipment because theirattendants may bring their own generally-applicable devices that arespecially programmed to interact with the in-vehicle computer system.

As used herein, a user-provided device 106 is provided by a user duringtransit on a vehicle. User-provided device 106 may include applicationsfor in-vehicle services as well as other user applications unrelated tothe in-vehicle services. In some implementations, user-provided device106 is not a dedicated device for exclusive use with the in-vehiclecomputer system. By way of example, the one or more user-provideddevices 106 may include one or more of laptop computers, tabletcomputers, netbooks, smartphones, or other computing devices that areprovided by one or more users during transit on a vehicle. These usersmay, for instance, include one or more passengers on the vehicle. In onescenario, airlines that utilize the in-vehicle computer system may avoidor otherwise reduce costs associated with purchasing, installing, ormaintaining user equipment because their passengers may bring their owngenerally-applicable devices specifically programmed to interact withthe in-vehicle computer system, as well as reduce the weight to avehicle added by conventional systems.

Server(s) 102 may be configured to execute one or more computer programmodules to facilitate in-vehicle services through attendant devices,user-provided devices, and/or an in-vehicle computer system. Thecomputer program modules may include one or more of a communicationsession module 108, a passenger module 110, a service module 112, acontent access module 114, and/or other modules.

Communication session module 108 may be configured to facilitate one ormore communication sessions between one or more attendant devices 104and one or more user-provided devices 106. In some implementations, theone or more communication sessions that are established between the oneor more attendant devices 104 and the one or more user-provided devices106 may enable the one or more attendant devices 104 to provideinformation to or receive information from the one or more user-provideddevices 106 without a connection to a network external to the vehicle(e.g., the Internet) by facilitating the transport of the informationbetween the one or more attendant devices 104 and the one or moreuser-provided devices 106 via the one or more communication sessions.

For example, FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of an in-vehicle computersystem 200 on a vehicle (e.g., a plane), in accordance with one or moreimplementations. As shown, in-vehicle computer system 200 includes anelectronic equipment (EE) bay 202 and wireless access points (WAPs) 204.EE bay 202 may include server(s) 102 having electronic storage 126 inwhich one or more content items (e.g., for access by the one or moreuser-provided devices 106) are stored. The stored content items mayinclude documents, songs, video clips, audio books, e-books, games,applications, or other content items. To facilitate interactions betweenthe one or more attendant devices 104 and the one or more user-provideddevices 106, in-vehicle computer system 200 may utilize WAPs 204 tofacilitate the one or more communication sessions between the one ormore attendant devices 104 and the one or more user-provided devices106.

Referring back to FIG. 1, passenger module 110 may be configured toprovide passenger information relating to one or more passengers. Incertain implementations, passenger module 110 may be configured toprovide the passenger information to the one or more attendant devices104. By way of example, the passenger information may include one ormore of identifying information, preference information, historyinformation, or status information associated with the one or morepassengers. Identifying information may include a name of a passenger,an account identifier associated with the passenger, an address of thepassenger, or other information that can be used to identify thepassenger. Preference information may indicate content items that thepassenger may like/dislike, accommodations that the passenger maylike/dislike (e.g., assistance, service items, food, beverages, lodging,etc.), or other preferences associated with the passenger. Historyinformation may indicate content items that the passenger has previouslyconsumed, accommodations that the passenger has previously requested,traveling history, or other previous events associated with thepassenger. Status information may indicate a seat class status (e.g.,business class, economy class, etc.), a frequent flyer status, or otherstatuses associated with the passenger.

In one use case, for instance, the preference information, the historyinformation, the status information, and/or other information that areprovided to attendant devices 104 may be enable attendants to customizethe transit experience for the passengers on board the vehicle.Attendants may, for instance, offer non-complimentary service items(e.g., blankets, headphones, etc.) to passengers that have paid forthose types of service items during previous trips without thepassengers having to first initiate a request for those service items.In this way, for instance, attendants may utilize the passengerinformation to upsell or otherwise provide services items, food,beverages, or other accommodations. Further details and examples withrespect to passenger information are described below.

In some implementations, passenger module 110 may be configured toobtain the passenger information via an Internet connection or otherwisea connection to a network external to the vehicle. Passenger module 110may be configured to store the passenger information at the in-vehiclecomputer system responsive to obtaining the passenger information. Inone implementation, passenger module 110 may be configured to obtain thepassenger information prior to boarding of the one or more passengers,prior to starting a trip to a destination (e.g., take-off of a plane),prior to some other event, and/or at other times. In this way, thepassenger module 110 may provide the passenger information to theattendant devices 104 or the user-provided devices 106 during transit ofthe vehicle quickly through the in-vehicle computer system (e.g., theone or more communication sessions) when requested by the attendantdevices 104 or the user-provided devices 106, for instance, withoutrelying on a connection to the Internet or otherwise a connection to anexternal network.

Service module 112 may be configured to provide service informationrelating to one or more services to be provided to the one or morepassengers. In various implementations, service module 112 may providethe service information to the one or more attendant devices 104. As anexample, the service information may, for instance, indicate one or moreaccommodation requests initiated by one or more passengers atbuilt-in-vehicle devices (e.g., a seatback control button, an overheadcontrol button, etc.) or user-provided devices 106.

Service module 112 may be configured to receive at least one requestfrom at least one user-provided device 106. Service module 112 may beconfigured to provide the at least one request to the one or moreattendant devices 104. For example, FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate diagramsof a user interface 300 of an application (e.g., a passengerapplication) on a user-provided device 106, in accordance with one ormore implementations. As shown, with respect to FIG. 3A, user interface300 includes options 302 (e.g., watch, listen, read, play, eat/drink,shop, explore, etc.) relating to servicing the user of user-provideddevice 106. In one use case, the user may select the “eat/drink” option302 to order food/beverages such as a snack, a meal, and/or a beverage.User interface 300 may, for instance, activate a menu for the user toselect and order a snack, meal, or beverage. User-provided device 106may provide the user's selection/order as part of an accommodationrequest to the in-vehicle computer system. Service module 112 mayreceive the accommodation request and provide the accommodation requestto an attendant device 104 so that an attendant of the attendant device104 may be notified of the user's selection/order.

Service module 112 may be configured to receive acknowledgementinformation associated with the at least one request (that is providedto the one or more attendant devices) from at least one attendant device104. Service module 112 may be configured to provide the acknowledgeinformation to the at least one user-provided device 106. In onescenario, with respect to FIG. 3A, a user-provided device 106 mayreceive a selection/order of a snack, meal, or beverage that isinitiated by a user using user interface 300 (e.g., by selecting the“eat/drink” option 302) and provide the selection/order to thein-vehicle computer system. Service module 112 may provide theselection/order to an attendant device 104 via a push or pull indicationmechanism. When an attendant of the attendant device 104 sees theselection/order, the attendant may use attendant device 104 (e.g., viaan attendant application) to confirm that he will provide the snack,meal, or beverage to the user of user-provided device 106. Theattendant's confirmation of the order may be provided as theacknowledgement information to the in-vehicle computer system. Servicemodule 112 receives the acknowledgement information from attendantdevice 104 and provides the acknowledgement information to theuser-provided device 106 to notify the user that the order is beingprocessed.

In certain implementations, service module 112 may be configured toreceive an indication that at least one service associated with the atleast one request is in progress or complete. As an example, withrespect to the above scenario of FIG. 3A, the acknowledge information(transmitted from the attendant device 104) may include the indicationthat the user's order is in progress. As another example, with respectto the above scenario of FIG. 3A, the attendant may utilize theattendant application on attendant device 104 to confirm that the user'sorder is complete after the attendant has provided the ordered snack,meal, or beverage to the user.

In various implementations, service module 112 may be configured toreceive an indication that at least one service associated with the atleast one request is complete from at least another attendant devicedifferent from the at least one attendant device (from which servicemodule 112 received the acknowledgement information). Service module 112may be configured to provide the indication that the at least oneservice is complete to the at least one attendant device 104.

Referring to FIG. 3A, for instance, a user-provided device 106 mayreceive a selection/order of a snack, meal, or beverage that isinitiated by a user using user interface 300 (e.g., by selecting the“eat/drink” option 302) and provide the selection/order to thein-vehicle computer system. Service module 112 may provide theselection/order to a first attendant device 104. When a first attendantoperating the first attendant device 104 sees the selection/order (e.g.,as an attendant task notifying the first attendant of the order), thefirst attendant may use the first attendant device 104 to acknowledgethe order. The first attendant's acknowledgement of the order may beprovided as the acknowledgement information to the in-vehicle computersystem.

The first attendant may ask a second attendant operating a secondattendant device 104 to prepare and provide the ordered snack, meal, orbeverage to the user. For example, the first attendant device 104 mayassign, forward, or otherwise cause the order to be communicated to thesecond attendant device 104. The second attendant may utilize the secondattendant device 104 to confirm that the user's order is complete afterthe second attendant has provided the ordered snack, meal, or beverageto the user. Based on the second attendant's confirmation, the secondattendant device 104 may provide to the in-vehicle computer system anindication that the user's order is complete. Service module 112 mayreceive the indication from the second attendant device 104 and providethe indication to the first attendant device 104. When the firstattendant device 104 receives the indication, a task that may haveinitially notified the first attendant of the order may be marked ascomplete. In this way, attendants may utilize their attendant devices towork together to provide their passengers a better transit experience.

In some implementations, service module 112 may be configured to receivean indication that at least one service associated with the at least onerequest is complete from the at least one user-provided device 106 (fromwhich service module 112 received the at least one request). Servicemodule 112 may be configured to provide the indication that the at leastone service is complete to the at least one attendant device 104.

For example, with respect to the above scenario (with the first andsecond attendants) of FIG. 3A, when the second attendant has providedthe user with the ordered snack, meal, or beverage, the user may utilizethe user-provided device 106 to confirm that the user's order has beencompleted to the user's satisfaction. Based on the user's confirmation,the user-provided device 106 may provide the indication that the orderis complete to the in-vehicle computer system. Service module 112 mayreceive the indication from the user-provided device 106 and provide theindication to the first attendant device 104. When the first attendantdevice 104 receives the indication, a task that may have initiallynotified the first attendant of the order may be marked as complete. Inthis way, the in-vehicle computer system enables users to provide atleast some feedback regarding their transit experience to theattendants. The first attendant may, for instance, be a managingattendant, and the user's confirmation that the order is complete mayinform the managing attendant that the second attendant has completedthe user's order to the user's satisfaction.

Content access module 114 may be configured to provide access to one ormore content items available to one or more user-provided devices 106.In some implementations, the one or more content items may include atleast some content items that are stored by the in-vehicle computersystem. In one scenario, with respect to FIG. 3B, a user may indicate(using her user-provided device 106) that she wants to access contentitems that may be watched (e.g., by selecting “watch” option 302). Assuch, the application associated with user interface 300 may send arequest for watchable content items 304 to the in-vehicle computersystem. In response to receiving the request, service module 112 of thein-vehicle computer system may provide (to the application) a list ofwatchable content items 304 that may be streamed or downloaded by theuser. As such, the application may cause user interface 300 to present awindow 306 that includes watchable content items 304 based on theprovided list.

If, for instance, the user selects “Movie 1,” the selection may bereceived by service module 112. Service module 112 may then forward theselection to content access module 114 to process the selection. Afterprocessing the selection, content access module 114 may provide accessto the watchable content item 304 associated with “Movie 1” touser-provided device 106 via an established communication sessionbetween the in-vehicle computer system and the user-provided device 106.In one use case, content access module 114 may provide the access to thewatchable content item 304 by facilitating streaming of the watchablecontent item 304 to the user-provided device 106. In another use case,content access module 114 may provide the access to the watchablecontent item 304 by facilitating a download of the watchable contentitem 304 to the user-provided device 106.

A given attendant device 104 may be configured to execute one or morecomputer program modules to facilitate in-vehicle services throughattendant devices, user-provided devices, and/or an in-vehicle computersystem. The computer program modules of the attendant device 104 mayinclude one or more of an attendant communication module 116, anattendant service module 118, and/or other modules.

Attendant communication module 116 may be configured to facilitate oneor more communication sessions with the in-vehicle computer system. Insome implementations, the one or more communication sessions that areestablished between the attendant device 104 and the in-vehicle computersystem may enable the attendant device 104 to provide information to orreceive information from the in-vehicle computer system without aconnection to a network external to the vehicle (e.g., the Internet) byfacilitating the transport of the information between the attendantdevice 104 and the in-vehicle computer system via the one or morecommunication sessions.

Attendant service module 118 may be configured to obtain, from thein-vehicle computer system via the one or more communication sessions,passenger information relating to one or more passengers and serviceinformation relating to one or more services to be provided to be theone or more passengers. As discussed, in some implementations, thepassenger information may include one or more of preference information,history information, status information, and/or other informationassociated with the one or more passengers.

By way of example, the preference information, the history information,the status information, and/or other information associated with the oneor more passengers may enable attendants to customize the transitexperience for the passengers on board the vehicle. In one use case, forinstance, attendants may utilize passenger preferences or serviceconsumption history (e.g., a history of requested assistance, serviceitems, food, beverages, lodging, etc.) to upsell or otherwise provideservice items, food, or beverages that complement each other withrespect to the passenger's taste. In another use case, attendants mayutilize status information to provide additional services or specialtreatment to frequent flyers or passengers having other specialstatuses.

In certain implementations, the service information may relate to one ormore accommodation requests initiated by the one or more passengers. Inone implementation, attendant service module 118 may be configured toobtain the service information responsive to one or more accommodationrequests initiated by the one or more passengers at the one or moreuser-provided devices 106. In one scenario, by obtaining the serviceinformation, attendant service module 118 may obtain the one or moreaccommodation requests. These accommodation requests may, for instance,include requests for assistance, service items, food, beverages,lodging, or other accommodations.

In another implementation, attendant service module 118 may beconfigured to obtain the service information responsive to one or moreaccommodation requests initiated by at least one passenger at one ormore built-in-vehicle devices. In one use case, a passenger may initiatean accommodation request by pushing a call button of an overhead controldevice that is built into the vehicle. The overhead control device maythen provide an indication that some form of assistance is needed by thepassenger. In this way, passengers without user-provided devices maystill be able to interact with the in-vehicle computer system along withattendant devices 104 to take advantage of the benefits provided by thesystem 100 (e.g., the in-vehicle computer system, attendant devices 104,user-provided devices 106, etc.).

As indicated, in some implementations, attendant service module 118 maybe configured to obtain the passenger information and the serviceinformation from the in-vehicle computer system without an Internetconnection. For example, the one or more communication sessions that areestablished between the attendant device 104 and the in-vehicle computersystem may enable the attendant device 104 to obtain the passengerinformation and the service information from the in-vehicle computersystem without an Internet connection or otherwise a connection to anetwork external to the vehicle. Some benefits may, for instance,include reduced data traffic on an existing Internet connection of thein-vehicle computer system along with faster transport of the passengerinformation or service information by eliminating the time needed tofirst obtain the passenger information or service information via anexternal connection.

Attendant service module 118 may be configured to provide the passengerinformation and the service information. In some implementations,attendant service module 118 may provide the passenger information andthe service information to an attendant operating the attendant device104, another attendant operating another attendant device 104 (e.g., bytransmitting the information to the other attendant device), and/orother personnel. With respect to FIG. 3A, for instance, a user-provideddevice 106 may receive a selection/order of a snack, meal, or beveragethat is initiated by a passenger using user interface 300 (e.g., byselecting the “eat/drink” option 302). The user-provided device 106 mayprovide the selection/order to the in-vehicle computer system. Thein-vehicle computer system may then provide relevant passengerinformation along with the selection/order to the attendant device 104.Attendant service module 118 may provide a presentation of the order andthe passenger information on the attendant device 104.

For example, if the passenger's current order includes a beverage, andthe passenger has a history of asking for “No Ice” in her beverages, thepresentation of the order may indicate that the passenger may not wantice in her beverage. Thus, even if the passenger did not indicate thatshe did not want ice in her beverage in her current order (e.g., sheforgot to indicate that she did not want ice), the attendant of theattendant device 106 may still be notified that the passenger may notwant ice in her beverage. As such, the attendant may double check withthe passenger before pouring the beverage for the passenger. In thisway, in-vehicle services facilitated by the attendant device 104 and/orother components of the system 100 may provide passengers with anenhanced and custom passenger experience.

Attendant service module 118 may be configured to receive an indicationthat at least one service is in progress or is complete. For example,attendant service module 118 may be configured to receive the indicationfrom the attendant device 104 (that includes the attendant servicemodule 118), from another attendant device 104, or from a givenuser-provided device 106. In one scenario, with respect to FIG. 3A, auser-provided device 106 may receive a selection/order of a snack, meal,or beverage that is initiated by a passenger using user interface 300(e.g., by selecting the “eat/drink” option 302). The user-provideddevice 106 may provide the selection/order to the attendant device 104.In response to receiving the selection/order, attendant service module118 may create a task associated with the order on the attendant device104. An attendant operating the attendant device 104 may provide theindication to the attendant device 104 that the order is in progress byconfirming that the attendant will take care of the task. Attendantservice module 118 may then, for instance, provide the indication thatthe order is in progress to the in-vehicle computer system, otherattendant devices 104, or the user-provided device 106 operated by thepassenger to alert other attendants, the passenger, or others that theorder is in progress.

In certain implementations, attendant service module 118 may beconfigured to provide a communication relating to servicing the one ormore passengers to one or more user-provided devices 106 associated withthe one or more passengers. In various implementations, attendantservice module 118 may provide the communication such that one or moreof voice communications, video communications, text communications,and/or other types of communications that are inputted at the attendantdevice 104 are provided to the one or more user-provided devices 106.For example, attendant service module 118 may enable an attendant tovoice chat, video chat, or text chat with passengers through theattendant devices 104 to the user-provided devices 106 to clarifyaccommodation requests with the passengers, answer questions that thepassengers may have, or facilitate other in-vehicle services.

In some implementations, attendant service module 118 may provide thecommunication such that one or more of emergency information orsafety-related instructions is provided to the one or more user-provideddevices 106. In one scenario, for instance, prior to landing of anairplane, a flight attendant may utilize his attendant device 104 tosend a message to the user-provided devices 106 to inform the passengerson board the airplane that all electronic devices must be turned off,that seatbelts must be buckled, that their seats must be placed in anupright seated position, and that all tray tables must be locked to theseats in front of them.

In various implementations, attendant communication module 116 may beconfigured to facilitate one or more direct peer-to-peer communicationsessions with the one or more user-provided devices 106. In someimplementations, attendant service module 118 may be configured toprovide the communication via the one or more direct peer-to-peercommunication sessions. In this way, an attendant may utilize hisattendant device 104 to communicate or otherwise interact with one ormore user-provided devices 106 without necessarily requiring aconnection to the in-vehicle computer system or a connection to anetwork external to the vehicle. It should be noted that, in someimplementations, attendant communication module 116 may be configured tofacilitate one or more direct peer-to-peer communication sessions withone or more other attendant devices 104, the one or more user-provideddevices 106, or other devices.

In certain implementations, attendant service module 118 may beconfigured to receive one or more passenger communications from one ormore user-provided devices associated with the one or more passengers.In one use case, for instance, attendant service module 118 may receivea communication from a user provided device associated with a passenger.The communication may, for instance, be an indication from theuser-provided device that the passenger is experience some form ofemergency (e.g., requesting emergency assistance) so that an attendantcan quickly proceed to check on the passenger, call an emergency helpline, or otherwise assist the passenger in other ways. In someimplementations, attendant service module 118 may be configured toreceive the one or more passenger communications such that one or moreof voice communications, video communications, or text communicationsthat are inputted at the one or more user-provided devices are received.For example, as discussed, attendant service module 118 may enable anattendant to voice chat, video chat, or text chat with passengersthrough the attendant devices 104 to the user-provided devices 106.

A given user-provided device 106 may be configured to execute one ormore computer program modules to facilitate in-vehicle services throughattendant devices, user-provided devices, and/or an in-vehicle computersystem. The computer program modules of the user-provided device 106 mayinclude one or more of a user communication module 120, a user servicemodule 122, and/or other modules.

User communication module 120 may be configured to facilitate one ormore communication sessions with the in-vehicle computer system. In someimplementations, the one or more communication sessions that areestablished between the user-provided device 106 and the in-vehiclecomputer system may enable the user-provided device 106 to provideinformation to or receive information from the in-vehicle computersystem with or without a connection to a network external to the vehicle(e.g., the Internet) by facilitating the transport of the informationbetween the user-provided device 106 and the in-vehicle computer systemvia the one or more communication sessions.

User service module 122 may be configured to provide one or more optionsrelating to in-vehicle services available to the user during transit onthe vehicle. For example, with respect to FIG. 3A, user service module122 may provide options 302 on user interface 300 that relate toin-vehicle services that are available to the user (e.g., watch, listen,read, play, eat/drink, shop, explore, etc.). In one use case, forinstance, the user may order food or beverages through user interface300 (e.g., by selecting “eat/drink” option 302). In another use case,the user may obtain content through user interface 300 (e.g., byselecting one or more of “watch,” “listen,” “read,” and “play” options302).

In one use case, with respect to FIG. 3B, user interface 300 may enablethe user to search for content or more service-related options via asearch box 308. In another use case, user interface 300 may enable theuser to access other options 310 (e.g., home option 310 a, favoritesoption 310 b, map/navigation option 310 c, chat option 310 d, andsettings option 310 e, etc.) that may include one or moreservice-related options.

User service module 122 may be configured to determine a selection of atleast one option by the user. User service module 112 may be configuredto provide, via the one or more communication sessions, the selection ofthe at least one option to the in-vehicle computer system. With respectto the above scenario of FIG. 3A, for instance, user service module 122may determine that a selection of one of the options 302 has been madewhen the user clicks, touches, or otherwise selects one of the options302 via user interface 300. In response to the determination of theselection, user service module 122 may provide the selection to thein-vehicle computer system for further processing.

In certain implementations, user service module 122 may be configured toprovide the selection of the at least one option to the in-vehiclecomputer system without an Internet connection. For example, the one ormore communication sessions that are established between theuser-provided device 106 and the in-vehicle computer system may enablethe user-provided device 106 to provide the selection to the in-vehiclecomputer system without an Internet connection or otherwise a connectionto a network external to the vehicle.

In some implementations, user service module 122 may be configured toprovide the selection of the at least one option to the in-vehiclecomputer system such that one or more accommodation requests areprovided to the in-vehicle computer system based on the selection. Inone scenario, with respect to FIG. 3A, user service module 122 maydetermine a selection/order of a snack, meal, or beverage that isinitiated by a user using user interface 300 (e.g., by selecting the“eat/drink” option 302). User service module 122 may then provide theselection/order as an accommodation request for the ordered snack, meal,or beverage to the in-vehicle computer system.

In certain implementations, user service module 122 may be configured toreceive a list of one or more content items stored by the in-vehiclecomputer system that are available to the user-provided device 106. Userservice module 122 may be configured to provide the one or more options(relating to in-vehicle services) based on the received list. Userservice module 122 may be configured to provide the selection of the atleast one option to the in-vehicle computer system such that a selectionof at least one content item is provided to the in-vehicle computersystem. In one scenario, with respect to FIG. 3B, a user may indicate(using her user-provided device 106) that she wants to access contentitems that may be watched (e.g., by selecting “watch” option 302). Assuch, the application associated with user interface 300 may send arequest for watchable content items 304 to the in-vehicle computersystem. In response to receiving the request, service module 112 of thein-vehicle computer system may provide (to the application) a list ofwatchable content items 304 that may be streamed or downloaded by theuser. As such, the application may cause user interface 300 to present awindow 306 that includes watchable content items 304 based on theprovided list. If, for instance, the user selects “Movie 1,” userservice module 122 may provide an indication of the selection of “Movie1” to the in-vehicle computer system.

In some implementations, user service module 122 may be configured toreceive access to the at least one content item via the one or morecommunication sessions based on the selection of the at least onecontent item. Referring to the above scenario (discussing the selectionof “Movie 1”) of FIG. 3B, for instance, user service module 122 maystream the watchable content item 304 associated with “Movie 1” topresent “Movie 1” to the user. In another scenario, user service module122 may download the watchable content item 304 to the user-provideddevice 106 to provide “Movie 1” to the user.

In various implementations, user service module 122 may be configured toreceive a communication relating to servicing the user. In someimplementations, user service module 122 may receive the communicationsuch that one or more of emergency information or safety-relatedinstructions is received. In one scenario, for instance, prior totake-off of an airplane, a flight attendant may utilize his attendantdevice 104 to send a message to the user-provided devices 106 to informthe passengers on board the airplane that all electronic devices must beturned off, that seatbelts must be buckled, that their seats must beplaced in an upright seated position, and that all tray tables must belocked to the seats in front of them.

In certain implementations, user communication module 120 may beconfigured to facilitate one or more direct peer-to-peer communicationsessions with one or more attendant devices 104. In one use case, forinstance, a passenger may utilize a user-provided device to initiate afood order to an attendant at an airport gate via an establishedpeer-to-peer communication session with an attendant device whilewaiting for the plane to arrive. In this way, the passenger maypre-order service (e.g., food, beverages, blankets, etc.) beforeboarding the plane. In some implementations, user service module 122 maybe configured to receive the communication from the one or moreattendant devices 104 via the one or more direct peer-to-peercommunication sessions. In this way, a passenger may utilize heruser-provided device 106 to communicate or otherwise interact with oneor more attendant devices 104 without necessarily requiring a connectionto the in-vehicle computer system or a connection to a network externalto the vehicle. It should be noted that, in some implementations, usercommunication module 120 may be configured to facilitate one or moredirect peer-to-peer communication sessions with one or more otheruser-provided devices 106, the one or more attendant devices 104, and/orother devices.

In various implementations, user service module 122 may be configured toprovide one or more passenger communications to one or more attendantdevices 104. In some implementations, user service module 122 may beconfigured to provide the one or more passenger communications such thatone or more of voice communications, video communications, or textcommunications that are inputted at the user-provided device 106 areprovided to the one or more attendant devices 104. For example, asdiscussed, user service module 122 may enable a passenger to voice chat,video chat, or text chat with passengers through the attendant devices104 to the user-provided devices 106 to clarify accommodation requestsfor the attendants, to ask the attendants questions, or initiaterequests for other services.

In various implementations, user service module 122 may be configured todetermine that that the user has a frequent flyer status. In someimplementations, the one or more options (relating to in-vehicleservices) may be provided such that a set of options relating toin-vehicle services that are not available to users without the frequentflyer status may be provided. For example, the set of options may bepresented on a user interface of an application on the user-provideddevice 106 as an alternative or additional set of options to a set ofoptions that are typically available to users (e.g., users without thefrequent flyer status).

In certain implementations, user service module 122 may be configured tofacilitate a check-in of the user for transport of the user. In someimplementations, the check-in of the user may be facilitated though thein-vehicle computer system or through one or more computer systemsexternal to the vehicle. In one use case, a particular user may check-inher flight from home prior to arriving at the airport via a “NortheastAirlines” application on her user-provided device 106 that may interactwith in-vehicle computer systems of “Northeast Airlines” planes oncenear or inside those planes. However, while at home, the particular usermay nonetheless connect to the Internet via her user-provided device 106to check-in to her “Northeast Airlines” application.

Server(s) 102, attendant devices 104, user-provided devices 106,external resources 124, and/or other components may be operativelylinked via one or more electronic communication links. For example, suchelectronic communication links may be established, at least in part, viaa network such as the Internet and/or other networks. It will beappreciated that this is not intended to be limiting, and that the scopeof this disclosure includes implementations in which server(s) 102,attendant devices 104, user-provided devices 106, external resources124, and/or other components may be operatively linked via some othercommunication media.

External resources 124 may include sources of information, hosts and/orproviders outside of system 100, external entities participating withsystem 100, and/or other resources. In some implementations, some or allof the functionality attributed herein to external resources 124 may beprovided by resources included in system 100.

In some implementations, server(s) 102 may include an electronic storage118, one or more processor(s) 120, and/or other components. Server(s)102 may include communication lines, or ports to enable the exchange ofinformation with a network and/or other computing platforms.Illustration of server(s) 102 in FIG. 1 is not intended to be limiting.Server(s) 102 may include a plurality of hardware, software, and/orfirmware components operating together to provide the functionalityattributed herein to server(s) 102. For example, server(s) 102 may beimplemented by a cloud of computing platforms operating together asserver(s) 102.

Electronic storages 126, 128, and 130 may comprise electronic storagemedia that electronically stores information. The electronic storagemedia of electronic storages 126, 128, and 130 may include one or bothof system storage that is provided integrally (i.e., substantiallynon-removable) with server(s) 102 and/or the client devices (e.g.,attendant devices 104, user-provided devices 106, etc.), and/orremovable storage that is removably connectable to server(s) 102 and/orthe client devices via, for example, a port (e.g., a USB port, afirewire port, etc.) or a drive (e.g., a disk drive, etc.). Electronicstorages 126, 128, and 130 may include one or more of optically readablestorage media (e.g., optical disks, etc.), magnetically readable storagemedia (e.g., magnetic tape, magnetic hard drive, floppy drive, etc.),electrical charge-based storage media (e.g., EEPROM, RAM, etc.),solid-state storage media (e.g., flash drive, etc.), and/or otherelectronically readable storage media. Electronic storages 126, 128, and130 may include one or more virtual storage resources (e.g., cloudstorage, a virtual private network, and/or other virtual storageresources). Electronic storages 126, 128, and 130 may store softwarealgorithms, information determined by processors 132, 134, and 136,information received from server(s) 102, information received fromattendant devices 104, information received from user-provided devices106, information received from external resources 124, and/or otherinformation that enables server(s) 102 or the client devices to functionas described herein.

Processors 132, 134, and 136 may be configured to provide informationprocessing capabilities in server(s) 102, attendant device 104, anduser-provided device 106, respectively. As such, processors 132, 134,and 136 may include one or more of a digital processor, an analogprocessor, a digital circuit designed to process information, an analogcircuit designed to process information, a state machine, and/or othermechanisms for electronically processing information. Althoughprocessors 132, 134, and 136 are shown in FIG. 1 as single entities,this is for illustrative purposes only. In some implementations, each ofprocessors 132, 134, and 136 may include a plurality of processingunits. These processing units may be physically located within the samedevice, or processors 132, 134, and 136 may individually representprocessing functionality of a plurality of devices operating incoordination. Processors 132, 134, and 136 may respectively beconfigured to execute modules 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122,and/or other modules by software; hardware; firmware; some combinationof software, hardware, and/or firmware; and/or other mechanisms forconfiguring processing capabilities on processors 132, 134, and 136.

It should be appreciated that although modules 108, 110, 112, and 114are illustrated in FIG. 1 as being co-located within a single processingunit, in implementations in which processor(s) 132 includes multipleprocessing units, one or more of modules 108, 110, 112, and/or 114 maybe located remotely from the other modules. It should be appreciatedalthough modules 116 and 118 are respectively illustrated in FIG. 1 asbeing co-located within a single processing unit, in implementations inwhich processor(s) 134 includes multiple processing units, one or moreof modules 116 and/or 118 may be located remotely from the othermodules. It should be appreciated that although modules 120 and 122 arerespectively illustrated in FIG. 1 as being co-located within a singleprocessing unit, in implementations in which processor(s) 136 includesmultiple processing units, one or more of modules 120 and/or 120 may belocated remotely from the other modules. The description of thefunctionality provided by the different modules 108, 110, 112, 114, 116,118, 120, 122, and/or 124 described below is for illustrative purposes,and is not intended to be limiting, as any of modules 108 110, 112, 114,116, 118, 120, 122, and/or 124 may provide more or less functionalitythan is described. For example, one or more of modules 108, 110, 112,114, 116, 118, 120, 122, and/or 124 may be eliminated, and some or allof its functionality may be provided by other ones of modules 108, 110,112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122, and/or 124. As another example, processors132, 134, and 136 may individually be configured to execute one or moreadditional modules that may perform some or all of the functionalityattributed below to one of modules 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120,122, and/or 124.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method 400 for provisioning of in-vehicle servicesthrough an attendant device that communicates with an in-vehiclecomputer system of a vehicle or with a user-provided device, inaccordance with one or more implementations. The operations of method400 presented below are intended to be illustrative. In someimplementations, method 400 may be accomplished with one or moreadditional operations not described, and/or without one or more of theoperations discussed. Additionally, the order in which the operations ofmethod 400 are illustrated in FIG. 4 and described below is not intendedto be limiting.

In some implementations, method 400 may be implemented in one or moreprocessing devices (e.g., a digital processor, an analog processor, adigital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuitdesigned to process information, a state machine, and/or othermechanisms for electronically processing information). The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices executing some or allof the operations of method 400 in response to instructions storedelectronically on an electronic storage medium. The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices configured throughhardware, firmware, and/or software to be specifically designed forexecution of one or more of the operations of method 400.

At an operation 402, one or more communication sessions with anin-vehicle computer system may be facilitated. Operation 402 may beperformed by an attendant communication module that is the same as orsimilar to attendant communication module 116, in accordance with one ormore implementations.

At an operation 404, passenger information relating to one or morepassengers of the vehicle and service information relating to one ormore services to be provided to the one or more passengers may beobtained. In one implementation, the passenger information and theservice information may be obtained from the in-vehicle computer systemwithout an Internet connection. In another implementation, the passengerinformation may be obtained such that one or more of preferenceinformation, history information, or status information associated withthe one or more passengers is obtained from the in-vehicle computersystem. In another implementation, the passenger information may beobtained such that status information associated with at least onepassenger is obtained. In another implementation, the serviceinformation may be obtained responsive to one or more accommodationrequests initiated by at least one passenger at one or morebuilt-in-vehicle devices. In another implementation, the serviceinformation may be obtained such that one or more accommodation requestsinitiated by the one or more passengers at the one or more user-provideddevices are obtained. Operation 404 may be performed by an attendantservice module that is the same as or similar to attendant servicemodule 118, in accordance with one or more implementations.

At an operation 406, the passenger information and the serviceinformation may be provided. Operation 406 may be performed by anattendant service module that is the same as or similar to attendantservice module 118, in accordance with one or more implementations.

At an operation 408, an indication that at least one service is inprogress or is complete may be received. In some implementations, theindication may be received from the in-vehicle computer system, at leastanother attendant device, or at least one user-provided device.Operation 408 may be performed by an attendant service module that isthe same as or similar to attendant service module 118, in accordancewith one or more implementations.

At an operation 410, one or more passenger communications may bereceived from the one or more user-provided device associated with theone or more passengers. In some implementations, the one or morepassenger communications may be received such that one or more of voicecommunications, video communications, or text communications that areinputted at the one or more user-provided devices are received.Operation 410 may be performed by an attendant service module that isthe same as or similar to attendant service module 118, in accordancewith one or more implementations.

At an operation 412, a communication relating to servicing the one ormore passengers may be provided to the one or more user-provideddevices. In some implementations, the communication may be provided suchthat one or more of emergency information or safety-related instructionsare provided to the one or more user-provided devices. Operation 412 maybe performed by an attendant service module that is the same as orsimilar to attendant service module 118, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In certain implementations, one or more direct peer-to-peercommunication sessions may be facilitated with the one or moreuser-provided devices. In some implementations, the communicationrelating to servicing the one or more passengers may be provided to theone or more user-provided devices via the one or more directpeer-to-peer communication sessions. Facilitation of the one or moredirect peer-to-peer communication sessions may be performed by anattendant communication module that is the same as or similar toattendant communication module 116, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method 500 for obtaining of in-vehicle servicesthrough a user-provided device that communicates with an in-vehiclecomputer system of a vehicle or with an attendant device, in accordancewith one or more implementations. The operations of method 500 presentedbelow are intended to be illustrative. In some implementations, method500 may be accomplished with one or more additional operations notdescribed, and/or without one or more of the operations discussed.Additionally, the order in which the operations of method 500 areillustrated in FIG. 5 and described below is not intended to belimiting.

In some implementations, method 500 may be implemented in one or moreprocessing devices (e.g., a digital processor, an analog processor, adigital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuitdesigned to process information, a state machine, and/or othermechanisms for electronically processing information). The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices executing some or allof the operations of method 500 in response to instructions storedelectronically on an electronic storage medium. The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices configured throughhardware, firmware, and/or software to be specifically designed forexecution of one or more of the operations of method 500.

At an operation 502, a check-in of the user for transport to be providedby one or more of a company or a group of companies may be facilitated.In some implementations, the check-in of the user may be facilitatedthough the in-vehicle computer system or through one or more computersystems external to the vehicle. Operation 502 may be performed by auser service module that is the same as or similar to user servicemodule 122, in accordance with one or more implementations.

At an operation 504, one or more communication sessions with anin-vehicle computer system may be facilitated. Operation 504 may beperformed by a user communication module that is the same as or similarto user communication module 120, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

At an operation 506, a list of one or more available content items maybe received. In various implementations, the one or more availablecontent items in the list may include one or more content itemsavailable to the user of the user-provided device that are stored by thein-vehicle computer system. In some implementations, the one or moreavailable content items in the list may include one or more content itemavailable to the user of the user-provided device that are not currentlystored by the in-vehicle computer system, but are accessible via anInternet connection (e.g., to a third party content store, to a networkexternal to the vehicle, etc.). Operation 506 may be performed by a userservice module that is the same as or similar to user service module122, in accordance with one or more implementations.

At an operation 508, one or more options relating to in-vehicle servicesavailable to the user during transit on the vehicle may be provided. Forexample, the one or more options may be presented on a user interface ofan application on the user-provided device. In certain implementations,the one or more options may be provided based on a received list of oneor more available content items. Operation 508 may be performed by auser service module that is the same as or similar to user servicemodule 122, in accordance with one or more implementations.

In some implementations, the user may be determined to have a frequentflyer status. In one implementation, the one or more options (relatingto in-vehicle services) may be provided such that a set of optionsrelating to in-vehicle services that are not available to users withoutthe frequent flyer status are provided. For example, the set of optionsmay be presented on a user interface of an application on theuser-provided device as an alternative or additional set of options to aset of options that are typically available to users (e.g., userswithout the frequent flyer status). Determination that the user has thefrequent flyer status may be performed by a user service module that isthe same as or similar to user service module 122, in accordance withone or more implementations.

At an operation 510, a selection of at least one option may bedetermined. In some implementations, the selection of the at least oneoption may include a selection of at least one content item. Operation510 may be performed by a user service module that is the same as orsimilar to user service module 122, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

At an operation 512, the selection of the at least one option may beprovided to the in-vehicle computer system via the one or morecommunication sessions. In certain implementations, the selection of theat least one option may be provided to the in-vehicle computer systemwithout an Internet connection. In some implementations, the at leastone option may be related to one or more accommodation requests of theuser. The selection of the at least one option may be provided such thatthe one or more accommodation requests are provided to the in-vehiclecomputer system. Operation 512 may be performed by a user service modulethat is the same as or similar to user service module 122, in accordancewith one or more implementations.

At an operation 514, access to at least one content item may bereceived. For example, the selection of the at least one option mayinclude a selection of the at least one content item. The access to theat least one content item may be received based on the selection of theat least one content item. Operation 514 may be performed by a userservice module that is the same as or similar to user service module122, in accordance with one or more implementations.

At an operation 516, one or more passenger communications may beprovided to one or more attendant devices. In some implementations, theone or more passenger communications may be provided such that one ormore of voice communications, video communications, or textcommunications that are inputted at the user-provided device is providedto the one or more attendant devices. Operation 516 may be performed bya user service module that is the same as or similar to user servicemodule 122, in accordance with one or more implementations.

At an operation 518, a communication relating to servicing the user maybe received. For example, the communication may be received from theattendant device or the in-vehicle computer system. In certainimplementations, the communication may be received such that one or moreof emergency information or safety-related instructions is received.Operation 518 may be performed by a user service module that is the sameas or similar to user service module 122, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

In certain implementations, one or more direct peer-to-peercommunication sessions may be facilitated with one or more attendantdevices. In some implementations, the communication relating toservicing the one or more passengers may be received from the one ormore attendant devices via the one or more direct peer-to-peercommunication sessions. Facilitation of the one or more directpeer-to-peer communication sessions may be performed by a usercommunication module that is the same as or similar to usercommunication module 120, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method 600 for in-vehicle services through anin-vehicle computer system of a vehicle that communicates with auser-provided device or with an attendant device, in accordance with oneor more implementations. The operations of method 600 presented beloware intended to be illustrative. In some implementations, method 600 maybe accomplished with one or more additional operations not described,and/or without one or more of the operations discussed. Additionally,the order in which the operations of method 600 are illustrated in FIG.6 and described below is not intended to be limiting.

In some implementations, method 600 may be implemented in one or moreprocessing devices (e.g., a digital processor, an analog processor, adigital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuitdesigned to process information, a state machine, and/or othermechanisms for electronically processing information). The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices executing some or allof the operations of method 600 in response to instructions storedelectronically on an electronic storage medium. The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices configured throughhardware, firmware, and/or software to be specifically designed forexecution of one or more of the operations of method 600.

At an operation 602, one or more communication sessions between one ormore attendant devices and one or more user-provided devices may befacilitated. Operation 602 may be performed by a communication sessionmodule that is the same as or similar to communication session module108, in accordance with one or more implementations.

At an operation 604, at least one request may be received from at leastone user-provided device. Operation 604 may be performed by a servicemodule that is the same as or similar to service module 112, inaccordance with one or more implementations.

At an operation 606, the at least one request may be provided to the oneor more attendant devices. Operation 606 may be performed by a servicemodule that is the same as or similar to service module 112, inaccordance with one or more implementations.

At an operation 608, passenger information relating to one or morepassengers and service information relating to one or more services tobe provided to the one or more passengers may be provided to the one ormore attendant devices. In some implementations, the service informationmay include information relating to at least one service associated withthe request. Operation 608 may be performed by a passenger module or aservice module that are the same as or similar to passenger module 110or service module 112, in accordance with one or more implementations.

At an operation 610, acknowledgement information associated with therequest may be received from at least one attendant device. Operation610 may be performed by a service module that is the same as or similarto service module 112, in accordance with one or more implementations.

At an operation 612, the acknowledgement information may be provided tothe at least one user-provided device. Operation 612 may be performed bya service module that is the same as or similar to service module 112,in accordance with one or more implementations.

At an operation 614, an indication that at least one service associatedwith the request is complete may be received. As shown, in someimplementations, the indication that the at least one service iscomplete may be received from the at least one user-provided device oranother attendant device that is different from the at least oneattendant device (e.g., the at least one attendant device from which theacknowledgement information is received). Operation 614 may be performedby a service module that is the same as or similar to service module112, in accordance with one or more implementations.

At an operation 616, the indication that the at least one service iscomplete may be provided to the at least one attendant device (e.g., theat least one attendant device from which the acknowledgement informationis received). Operation 616 may be performed by a service module that isthe same as or similar to service module 112, in accordance with one ormore implementations.

Although the present technology has been described in detail for thepurpose of illustration based on what is currently considered to be themost practical and preferred implementations, it is to be understoodthat such detail is solely for that purpose and that the technology isnot limited to the disclosed implementations, but, on the contrary, isintended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that arewithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it isto be understood that the present technology contemplates that, to theextent possible, one or more features of any implementation can becombined with one or more features of any other implementation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for facilitating provisioning ofin-vehicle services through an attendant device, operated by anattendant, that communicates with an in-vehicle computer system of avehicle or with a user-provided device, wherein the attendant device isprovided by the attendant during transit on the vehicle, the methodbeing implemented on the attendant device that includes one or morephysical processors, the method comprising: facilitating, by theattendant device, one or more communication sessions with the in-vehiclecomputer system; obtaining, by the attendant device from the in-vehiclecomputer system via the one or more communication sessions, passengerinformation relating to one or more passengers of the vehicle andservice information relating to one or more services to be provided tothe one or more passengers; providing, by the attendant device, thepassenger information and the service information; and receiving, by theattendant device, an indication that at least one service is in progressor is complete.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining thepassenger information and the service information further compriseobtaining the passenger information and the service information from thein-vehicle computer system without an Internet connection.
 3. The methodof claim 1, the method further comprising providing, by the attendantdevice, a communication relating to servicing the one or more passengersto one or more user-provided devices associated with the one or morepassengers.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein providing thecommunication to the one or more user-provided devices further comprisesproviding one or more of emergency information or safety-relatedinstructions to the one or more user-provided devices.
 5. The method ofclaim 3, the method further comprising facilitating, by the attendantdevice, one or more direct peer-to-peer communication sessions with theone or more user-provided devices, wherein providing the communicationto the one or more user-provided devices further comprises providing thecommunication via the one or more direct peer-to-peer communicationsessions.
 6. The method of claim 1, the method further comprisingreceiving, by the attendant device, one or more passenger communicationsfrom one or more user-provided devices associated with the one or morepassengers.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein receiving the one or morepassenger communications further comprises receiving one or more ofvoice communications, video communications, or text communications thatare inputted at the one or more user-provided devices.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein obtaining the service information further comprisesobtaining the service information responsive to one or moreaccommodation requests initiated by at least one passenger at one ormore built-in-vehicle devices.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinobtaining the passenger information further comprises obtaining one ormore of preference information, history information, or statusinformation associated with the one or more passengers from thein-vehicle computer system.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein obtainingthe passenger information further comprises obtaining status informationassociated with at least one passenger, the status informationcomprising a frequent flyer status associated with the at least onepassenger.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the serviceinformation further comprises obtaining one or more accommodationrequests initiated by the one or more passengers at the one or moreuser-provided devices.
 12. A method for facilitating obtaining ofin-vehicle services through a user-provided device that communicateswith an in-vehicle computer system of a vehicle or with an attendantdevice, wherein the user-provided device is provided by a user duringtransit on the vehicle, the method being implemented on theuser-provided device that includes one or more physical processors, themethod comprising: facilitating, by the user-provided device, one ormore communication sessions with the in-vehicle computer system;providing, by the user-provided device, one or more options relating toin-vehicle services available to the user during transit on the vehicle;determining, by the user-provided device, a selection of at least oneoption by the user; and providing, by the user-provided device via theone or more communication sessions, the selection of the at least oneoption to the in-vehicle computer system.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein providing the selection of the at least one option to thein-vehicle computer system further comprises providing the selection ofthe at least one option to the in-vehicle computer system without anInternet connection.
 14. The method of claim 12, the method furthercomprising receiving, by the user-provided device, a list of one or morecontent items stored by the in-vehicle computer system that areavailable to the user-provided device, wherein providing the one or moreoptions further comprises providing the one or more options based on thereceived list, and wherein providing the selection of the at least oneoption to the in-vehicle computer system further comprises providing aselection of at least one content item to the in-vehicle computersystem.
 15. The method of claim 14, the method further comprisingreceiving, by the user-provided device via the one or more communicationsessions, access to the at least one content item based on the selectionof the at least one content item.
 16. The method of claim 12, the methodfurther comprising receiving, by the user-provided device, acommunication relating to servicing the user.
 17. The method of claim16, wherein receiving the communication further comprises receiving oneor more of emergency information or safety-related instructions.
 18. Themethod of claim 16, the method further comprising facilitating, by theuser-provided device, one or more direct peer-to-peer communicationsessions with one or more attendant devices, wherein receiving thecommunication further comprises receiving the communication via the oneor more direct peer-to-peer communication sessions.
 19. The method ofclaim 12, the method further comprising providing, by the user-provideddevice, one or more passenger communications to one or more attendantdevices.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein providing the one or morepassenger communications further comprises providing one or more ofvoice communications, video communications, or text communications thatare inputted at the user-provided device.
 21. The method of claim 12,wherein providing the selection of the at least one option to thein-vehicle computer system further comprises providing one or moreaccommodation requests based on the selection.
 22. The method of claim12, the method further comprising determining, by the user-provideddevice, that the user has a frequent flyer status, wherein providing theone or more options further comprise providing a set of options relatingto in-vehicle services that are not available to users without thefrequent flyer status.
 23. The method of claim 12, the method furthercomprising facilitating, by the user-provided device, a check-in of theuser for transport of the user.
 24. A method for facilitating in-vehicleservices through an in-vehicle computer system of a vehicle thatcommunicates with a user-provided device or with an attendant device,wherein the user-provided device is provided by a user during transit onthe vehicle, and the attendant device is provided by an attendant duringtransit on the vehicle, the method being implemented on the in-vehiclecomputer system that includes one or more physical processors, themethod comprising: facilitating, by the in-vehicle computer system, oneor more communication sessions between one or more attendant devices andone or more user-provided devices; receiving, by the in-vehicle computersystem, at least one request from at least one user-provided device;providing, by the in-vehicle computer system, the at least one requestto the one or more attendant devices; receiving, by the in-vehiclecomputer system, acknowledgement information associated with the atleast one request from at least one attendant device; and providing, bythe in-vehicle computer system, the acknowledgement information to theat least one user-provided device.
 25. The method of claim 24, themethod further comprising providing, by the in-vehicle computer systemto the one or more attendant devices, passenger information relating toone or more passengers and service information relating to one or moreservices to be provided to the one or more passengers.
 26. The method ofclaim 25, wherein providing the passenger information further comprisesproviding one or more of preference information, history information, orstatus information associated with the one or more passengers.
 27. Themethod of claim 24, the method further comprising receiving, by thein-vehicle computer system, an indication that at least one serviceassociated with the at least one request is in progress or complete. 28.The method of claim 24, the method further comprising: receiving, by thein-vehicle computer system from at least another attendant devicedifferent from the at least one attendant device, an indication that atleast one service associated with the at least one request is complete;and providing, by the in-vehicle computer system to the at least oneattendant device, the indication that the at least one service iscomplete.
 29. The method of claim 24, the method further comprising:receiving, by the in-vehicle computer system from the at least oneuser-provided device, an indication that at least one service associatedwith the at least one request is complete; and providing, by thein-vehicle computer system to the at least one attendant device, theindication that the at least one service is complete.
 30. An attendantdevice for facilitating the provision of in-vehicle services, whereinthe attendant device is operated by an attendant and communicates withan in-vehicle computer system of a vehicle or with a user-provideddevice, wherein the attendant device is provided by the attendant duringtransit on the vehicle, the attendant device including one or morephysical processors executing one or more computer program instructionsthat cause the attendant device to: facilitate one or more communicationsessions with the in-vehicle computer system; obtain, from thein-vehicle computer system via the one or more communication sessions,passenger information relating one or more passengers of the vehicle andservice information relating to one or more services to be provided tothe one or more passengers; provide the passenger information and theservice information; and receive an indication that at least one serviceis in progress or is complete.